'Korea has been independent for thousands of years,' says White House

White House explained President Trump’s comment "Korea used to be part of China" that he was told by Chinese President Xi Jinping during the U.S.-China summit on April 6 and 7 by saying, “We know well that Korea has been independent for thousands of years.”

Mike Anton, deputy assistant to President Trump for strategic communications, said on last Friday, “We generally do not comment on the details of what is said between the President and other leaders,” in response to the Korean media’s request to make a comment on Trump’s saying.

Although the White House belatedly gave an explanation, it did not say whether the Chinese president actually made such comment or Mr. Trump acknowledged Korea as such, and what made him say that.

“It appears that the White House wanted to clarify its position to calm down the heated argument as both China and South Korea are sensitive to this issue with increasing importance of cooperating with the two countries in order to tackle nuclear threats from North Korea,” says a source in Washington.

Seung-Heon Lee ddr@donga.com